The goal of this study was to investigate how early childhood teachers reported responding to the instructional mandates they received. To answer our research questions, we completed semi-structured interviews with 20 early childhood teachers and coded their responses. The participating teachers were recruited from a large Head Start agency in the United States. We found that Head Start teachers reported feeling caught between two competing priorities: the priority the program placed on compliance with instructional routines and the priority the teachers placed on addressing children’s social, emotional, and behavioral needs. Essentially, teachers perceived that they must demonstrate compliance to the program’s instructional mandates first and foremost. Furthermore, they perceived that the program’s instructional coaches were monitoring their compliance with the mandates. As a result of this workplace context, the Head Start teachers reported that they did not feel permitted to alter the program’s required instructional procedures. The implications for policy and research are discussed.

中文翻译：

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早期教育中基于政策的教学改革：美国先导老师如何看待教学要求

这项研究的目的是调查幼儿教师如何报告对他们收到的教学任务的回应。为了回答我们的研究问题，我们完成了对20位幼儿老师的半结构化访谈，并对他们的回答进行了编码。参与教师是从美国一家大型的Head Start机构招募的。我们发现，“开始学习”的老师报告说，自己的感觉被夹在两个相互竞争的优先事项之间：计划对遵守教学常规的重视程度以及对满足孩子的社会，情感和行为需求的重视程度。从本质上讲，教师认为，他们首先必须证明自己符合计划的教学要求。此外，他们认为该计划的指导教练正在监视他们对任务的遵守情况。由于工作场所的这种情况，Head Start老师报告说，他们不被允许改变程序的必要教学程序。讨论了对政策和研究的影响。